


That Time Kotetsu Woke Up

by thingsishouldntbedoing



Series: That Time Series [4]
Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: M/M, what happened, why am I writing this?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-31
Updated: 2012-12-31
Packaged: 2017-11-23 03:09:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/617419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingsishouldntbedoing/pseuds/thingsishouldntbedoing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kotetsu doesn't like waking up to a cold bed. But he'd do anything for Barnaby, even if it means staying up late and talking about everything on his mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Time Kotetsu Woke Up

He woke with a start, realizing that the warmth so often residing in his arms had disappeared. He opened his eyes curiously and found the blonde standing at the window watching the snowfall… or at least he assumed that was what he was doing. He couldn’t be inside Barnaby’s head, couldn’t understand what exactly when on when he was alone with his thoughts, he could only watch and hope to make him smile. “Bunny?” He broke the silence, sitting up as he rubbed the sleep from his face. 

Barnaby jumped at his nickname, the suddenly spoken word breaking his concentration. “Whoa it’s okay.” Kotetsu said genially. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” 

“You startled me is all; you were sleeping pretty soundly.” Barnaby replied quietly, looking over his shoulder. In the cast lights from the city he looked so lovely, green eyes dark in the quiet night framed by soft curls not yet tamed for the day ahead. “You can go back to sleep, I’m right here.” 

“But why are you there?” Kotetsu questioned and saw the smile quirk at his lips. _He’s in a good mood at least._

“I was thinking.” 

“You mean obsessing.” Tiger corrected, stretching luxuriously with a yawn that rivaled one of his nickname. “Right?” 

“Ah.” If he had been wearing his glasses Kotetsu could have predicted what would have happened next. He had a way of shifting his head just right so those eyes were hidden behind a glare of light. It was a talent in and of itself. Especially when he had been caught. “You choose words poorly.” 

“Bunny, come back to bed.” He told him gently, but he predicted the shaking of his head. “Nothing’s going on. The city’s quiet.” He finally brought himself to climb out of the warmth of the bed, hesitating to put his feet on the cold wood floor. 

“I know.” He sighed heavily and Kotetsu could see the stress in his back, the way his trapezii and deltoids pulled back on his proud shoulders, how he shifted his hips slightly to adjust for the relaxation of his latissimus dorsi. 

“What’s bothering you?” His hands found his shoulders, rubbing gently. “And don’t lie.” 

“I don’t lie.” Barnaby’s words came sharp and Kotetsu flinched slightly. “There’s a difference between blatantly ignoring an issue you know is occurring and not speaking exactly what’s on your mind at all times.” So he was still bitter about that. 

“Enough about me.” He said, hands relaxing slightly. “Don’t change the subject and start a fight. I know you’d rather do that than just tell me what’s bothering you.” He felt those shoulders tighten further. “Barnaby.” 

“Ah… it’s really nothing Kotetsu.” He rolled his neck, closing his eyes as powerful fingers kneaded the knots out of his back with practiced skill. “Do you ever think about death?” He felt the hands still and he looked over his shoulder at him with half-lidded eyes. 

“Wh-Where is this coming from?” Kotetsu felt his heart stutter. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing.” A smile tugged at his lips again. “I don’t mean… killing yourself or something. I just mean do you ever think about what happens when you go? What happens here?” 

“I know what’ll happen when you die. The whole city will mourn for a month.” Kotetsu wasn’t sure if he should smile or frown. He wasn’t sure where this was going, what the blonde was thinking. 

“Have I done the best I can do?” He wondered, turning back to the snow. “Is this all I can do?” 

“It’s asking those questions that make you a better person.” He slipped his hands under the Henley to let his palms glide over his hips, rubbing his thumbs against his obliques. “Why are you thinking about all this Barnaby?” He rested his chin on his shoulder, one hand on his solar plexus. 

“I love you.” Came yet another answer he was expecting. 

“If you love me why don’t you let me in?” Kotetsu murmured. “You always say that, but you won’t just tell me what’s wrong. The whole point of being a team is shouldering half the weight.” 

There was quiet once more. Kotetsu could almost hear Barnaby’s mind working. It really was a wondrous thing the glob of grey matter that lived in Barnaby’s skull. Things went in and became something new when they came out much like everyone else… but somehow the things he came up with were more than just that. His strategies and plans always seemed to be just exactly what they needed. The unfortunate thing was; this was how his brain was wired. He had a hard time opening the can of worms that was his psyche. Still so broken after Maverick’s death Kotetsu had seen him nearly come back from the dead. With Maverick’s death came a flood of memories forgotten to mingle with memories created. Kotetsu knew he struggled every day to figure out what was real and what wasn’t. 

“What if I break?” His voice was quiet. Kotetsu didn’t need to prompt him to elaborate. “What if I can’t do it? So many people are relying on me… they want me to protect them: the Heroes, you, Kaede, and all the citizens of this city. Not to mention the impact on the world if we bring them down once and for all.” 

“You’re not alone.” Kotetsu reminded him. “You’re not… Dirty Harry or something.” 

“I’m more of a Quixote. Waving my sword at windmills.” 

“Why are you arguing with me?” Kotetsu had been fed his fill of this. He grabbed him and turned him around. “Bunny this isn’t like you. What is going on?” 

“I don’t know, Kotetsu. I don’t feel like myself in the dark.” He murmured. “There’s something so pervasive and sundering about the shadows of the night. Where darkness is there is darker still.” 

“It’s not that dark.” Kotetsu told him. “We are the light.” He smiled. “Isn’t that what you’re always telling me? Of course the light can’t see how bright it is… but you cast such a glow on everyone you meet. Look at me, Bunny! I’m a changed man from who I was then. You made me what I am today. You took me from the lowest I had ever been and lifted me up. And you didn’t have to keep doing it. You didn’t have to keep giving me chances.” 

Barnaby listened intently, searching his face as his words bit at his heart. Maybe he was right. This was what Kotetsu was best at: dragging him out of his own head. He smiled, watching his tiger eyes gleam golden in the white light of the street lamps. 

“But you did, Barnaby.” He caught his head in his hands. “You gave me so many chances even when I screwed up. We’re a team. We’re unstoppable. And if you don’t think so then you had better change your attitude.” 

“You are a better man than you think you are.” Barnaby said softly, a smile on his face; in his eyes. That was all Kotetsu could ask for. 

“I’m only as good as you.” Kotetsu teased, curling his fingers into his hair as their lips touched.


End file.
